Topic
Desmalopex
About: Desmalopex is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2 publications have been published within this topic receiving 90 citations.
Papers
TL;DR: The new species shares several probable morphological synapomorphies with Desmalopex leucopterus, including features of the pelage, patagia, dentition, and cranium, suggesting that the 2 species are closely related.
Abstract: We describe a new species of flying fox of the genus Desmalopex from Mindoro Island, Philippines. Discrete and mensural morphological characters distinguish the new species from other flying foxes in Southeast Asia. The new species shares several probable morphological synapomorphies with Desmalopex leucopterus, including features of the pelage, patagia, dentition, and cranium, suggesting that the 2 species are closely related. We present phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequences, which support the taxonomic status of the new species and the recently revalidated genus Desmalopex. Together, D. leucopterus and the new species form a well-supported clade that may be sister to Pteropus þ Acerodon, or perhaps more distantly related to these genera. Discovery of the new species highlights the need for continued biodiversity inventories in the Philippines, where new taxa are being discovered at a remarkable rate.
73 citations
TL;DR: Separate and combined parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses recovered a clade containing Acerodon as sister to all Pteropus species to the exclusion of the Philippine endemic taxon ‘P. leucopterus’, rendering Pteropoulos paraphyletic.
Abstract: Pteropus is the most speciose genus in Pteropodidae, currently comprising 65 species in 18 species groups. Here we examine whether Pteropus as currently understood is monophyletic. We sequenced three nuclear genes (RAG-1, RAG-2 and vWF) totalling c. 3.0 kbp from 18 species of Pteropus representing 12 species groups, plus Acerodon celebensis and megachiropteran outgroups representing all other subfamilies and tribes. Separate and combined parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses recovered a clade containing Acerodon as sister to all Pteropus species to the exclusion of the Philippine endemic taxon ‘P. leucopterus’, rendering Pteropus paraphyletic. We propose the revalidation of Desmalopex Miller, 1907, an available generic name for leucopterus, adopting the name combination Desmalopex leucopterus (Temminck, 1853). We discuss implications of this result and anticipate further modifications of the classification of Pteropus.
25 citations
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 2 |